Club in focus: Old Carey Cricket Club

Simon Wood

Club President

The Old Carey Cricket Club (OCCC) is over 60 years old and has a rich history of success. The Club is based in Bulleen at the Carey Sports Complex, which has three turf cricket teams in the Eastern Cricket Association (CTA) and one turf one-day team competing in the MCC Club XI. Our home grounds and facilities rate as one of the best cricket and sports facilities in the country.

The 2019/20 season was both a memorable and successful one for the OCCC. With credit to the coaching staff and captains and hard work of the playing group, all four teams managed to reach finals for the third season in a row – a remarkable effort! While we were all reminded of how hard it is to taste the ultimate success, the First XI were crowned premiers of the Wright Shield, ending a 10-year absence from the ECA’s highest grade, the Dunstan Shield. Exciting times for our club. After what was a testing season due to inclement weather and uncertainty towards the season’s close due to COVID-19, the club is extremely proud of its players for maintaining high standards, training hard and performing strongly as a unit.

This season saw the emergence of young talent at the club, and more new faces. Whether it was players transitioning from the Second XI cricket team to the First XI, fresh school leavers or those resuming from a break since school cricket, the numbers of young cricketers grew, and this is something we wish to continue going forward. From the past five graduating years, 33 new cricketers have joined. A lot of our success can be attributed to the steady heads of the club, who have done a top job in guiding the new wave of young players. Having a mix of senior experienced cricketers as coaches and captains of our teams has provided a fantastic transition to senior cricket for our youth. We are thankful to those key members of our club.

‘A lot of our success can be attributed to the steady heads of the club, who have done a top job in guiding the new wave of young players.’

There were some sensational highlights to celebrate, both on and off the field. There were three maiden century makers: Matt Knox, Josh Sharrock and Gus Dowling. A special mention to Gus, who thought he finished on 99*, only to be told the next day that after a countback, he had made 100! Brendan Dugan and Murad Khan took the most wickets in their respective leagues and both Daniel Clarke (520) and Tom Atkins (452) posted stellar years in the First XI with the bat. Cal Still had a brilliant finals series taking nine wickets, including 5/26 (22) in the Final to be awarded best on ground. Off the field, OCCC enjoyed a range of social events, including a cocktail-making session and many nights out at our sponsor Maeve Fox, the OCCC Golf Day, a Night at the Races, the Christmas Party, the Grand in the Hand fundraiser, and our annual David Lord Trophy Match against the Carey Boys First XI. Thursday night dinners were also a feature, with the boys particularly enjoying Pranav’s curry night, Rohan’s kebab night and Friendy’s chicken burger night.

A big thank you to our sponsors, the School and the grounds staff, led by Jim Keppell, who continue to produce amazing playing facilities. We are very excited for next season and of course to use the new cricket nets currently under construction.

At Old Carey Cricket Club, we are always looking to increase our numbers and welcome new players of all standards and abilities. If you would like to join OCCC, please visit www.oldcareycricketclub.com. au/contact-us/